Recently arrived Dominican ambassador in Israel, Michelle Cohen spoke of her own plight and fears and the situation of Dominicans living in Israel, in an interview with Alicia Ortega of Noticias SIN. Cohen had just arrived a month ago for her term in Israel.
“This has been a very surprising moment, not only for Israel but for the whole world. With elements that had never been seen before, nor had they ever expected,” said Cohen.
The ambassador explained that Israel has always been prepared for different types of attacks. However, she never imagined that the Hamas terrorist group would enter Jewish territory the way they did.
“My son and my mother awoke me and we went to what you can call a bunker or protection room…there we waited 10 minutes, and then we went out. After half an hour we were back there when the alarms sounded…,” she said.
Cohen said the population of resident Dominicans is small, but there are constant visitors. She added that the embassy is making arrangements for the return of six Dominicans, all members of the same family, who have expressed their desire to leave Israel.
She said the Ministry of Foreign Relations is working with neighboring countries to organize joint flights for citizens to return to their countries.
The ambassador could not set a number to the Dominicans in Israel at the time. “This is a developing issue… we do not know who else may contact us and we are still inquiring. We have made the relevant announcements and we have published phones for people to contact us,” she said.
“The moments when this kind of conflict starts are the most tense. But then when the tensions drop, when the crossing points and airports reopen, things begin to take on a certain normality,” she concluded.
The WhatsApp contact for the Dominican Embassy is +972 3-611-4883.
Read more in Spanish:
Alicia Ortega interview
Noticias SIN
Noticias SIN
DR1 News
11 October 2023